Thank You, Naomi Klass Mauer
Thank you to Naomi Klass Mauer for your touching, informative, loving and edifying article/tribute to your father, a”h. Your father (and mother) filled a void in this country for a Torah newspaper in English that reached so many Yidden, even those in prison (“63 And 23, The Jewish Press And Rabbi Sholom Klass,” Jan. 27).
There is so much history in the article, I can even picture your rich childhood with so much family, so close; how your newspaper was and continues to be such a staple in so many homes!
Clearly, the article was a labor of love. I’ve always said The Jewish Press was the paper “with a heart”; I guess so much of it coming from your mother, a”h, the columnists she chose, etc., and the outlook your father imparted to everyone involved.
Wishing you continued success.
Miriam Fishman
Los Angeles, Calif.
Yasher Koach, Thank You for the Memories
Dear Naomi, I just had to let you know how much I enjoyed reading your beautifully written, poignant, and emotionally stirring memories of your dear father, Rabbi Shalom Klass, a”h.
I was fascinated reading your personal, heartwarming recollections. The way in which you so vividly described his personal and professional persona and environment, along with his numerous great achievements, enabled me to really get a clear picture of what a remarkable man he was. And such a remarkable daughter you are, following in his great footsteps.
What an extraordinary walk back in time, to learn of the origins and early history of The Jewish Press and all that it stands for until today. I read with mounting interest how your father, a”h, was the driving force who turned the paper into the first and foremost weekly Jewish publication in America, thus realizing his dream. Such a great feat!
It is an enduring testament to his legacy, and in this day and age it is more important than ever that you successfully continue to promote in your paper an awareness of concerns unique to the frum community and to uphold the Torah values inherent to the Orthodox Jewish world, along with advocating strong support for Israel.
I don’t have any doubt that your father would be so proud of you and all that you’ve accomplished, having such a strong, positive impact on Orthodox Judaism. May his neshama have an aliyah on his 23rd yahrzeit. Hopefully, Hashem will answer our prayers to bring Moshiach bimhayra b’yamenu, when Baruch Hashem we will all be reunited with our loved ones again.
Debbie Hurwitz
Forest Hills, N.Y.
Abrahamic Faiths Need to Fight the Good Fight
I am responding to the very riveting article, “Jews must Fight for a Moral Country” by Avi Goldstein (Jan 27). I imagine this brazenly honest article must have touched a sensitive nerve in most of our Jewish communities. I feel, that yes, we must be sensitive to the gay-trans community, because they too are human beings, G-d’s children. They do require accommodations and need to be protected.
However, the world will decay and disintegrate if we let society determine what is permitted. We require the Torah to give us the absolute word of G-d. If same-sex marriage is normalized, why not allow brother and sister to marry if they wish? It is two consenting adults, so why not? The acceptance of society as the arbiter of values is very dangerous and indeed a slippery slope.
How long should the three Abrahamic religions turn a blind eye and be mute on this American law that recognizes same-sex marriage and thus gives its imprimatur to unacceptable sexual behavior? It is sad enough that we know it happens in the privacy of bedrooms, but the legal acceptance of same-sex marriage is the law that broke the camel’s back.
In this day of social media’s ready availability to organize protests, we can readily call upon rabbis, pastors, priests and imams to fight this tsunami of attack on morality that has broken the floodgates. We are now swimming in dangerously deep waters. Unacceptable behavior is now perceived as normal.
Marriage is sacrosanct, a holy institution, that has existed for thousands of years. Western civilization has understood it to mean one thing – the coming together of a man and woman in holy matrimony. The gay community has gone way overboard in their demands, not being content to be simply “accepted” in society, but having a strong need to be “celebrated.” An aberration has been converted into an attribute to be proud of. The world is turning on its head to promote this lifestyle. Semantically, the gay-trans community should have referred to their status as a “common-law relationship,” or a union. They have unintentionally tainted the word and institution of marriage and the holiness it brought for millennia.
Does the world turn on its head for other groups with disabilities or liabilities? Do people shut off all their office lights during working hours, to empathize and encourage those who are blind? Are amplification systems eliminated at rock concerts, in empathy and support for those who are deaf?
Disney has actually dropped the use of the terminology of “boys” and “girls” Disney Land and Disney World. It is high time to get organized to restore morality by inviting the leadership in all Abrahamic religions to take charge. We cannot change the morality of each individual, but we can be impactful on a legal and societal level. We need always be respectful of individuals and their situation, providing legal and financial protection at work, without discrimination persecution. Society needs to be kind, caring and welcoming, but we must achieve the correct balance.
Bottom line: We cannot change the foundation and bedrock of our civilization and what the three Abrahamic religions would espouse. If we do not succeed in restoring “normalcy,” these degradations of morality will be perpetuated.
Shelley Engel
Aventura, Fla.
Neglecting the Rambam
In “Accommodation Is Still The Better Path” (Feb. 17), Rabbi Broyde writes that he has “no secular argument to make” in support of rabbinic tradition that homosexuality is prohibited for all men and that same-sex marriage is a religious offense. (Let me note: it is the act that is forbidden, not one’s natural or nurtured desires.) See, however, Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed, Part 3, Chapter 49. On a related note in connection with the Guide, it gives me no pleasure to see certain words of Rav Kapach in his introduction to Sefer HaKorbanot ring ever truer in our times. For learned readers, I’ll suffice with these references.
S. Appel
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Hunting to Eat What?
The article about whether or not it’s appropriate for frum Jews to hunt (“Is It Proper,” Feb. 17), was very interesting. The four rabbis brought up many interesting points. However, there are some issues that I feel need to be discussed.
Rabbi Jonathan Muskat states that “if someone needs to engage in hunting to earn a living, then he may do so….” Earning a living from hunting is halachically permissible, but isn’t practical. Each state issues hunting licenses. With each hunting license there are specific limits as to how many of each animal each hunter may kill that season. Given these limits, I don’t see how anyone can earn a living by hunting. I also don’t think that any frum Jew would even supplement his income by hunting.
There is another issue that none of the rabbis discussed. They all mentioned tzar baalai chaim (cruelty to animals). None of them discussed maaris ayin. It is unseemly for frum Jews to hunt. When a non-Jewish hunter asks a frum Jewish hunter what he is hunting for, sport or food, what would be the proper way to respond? What is the point of hunting for food if we can’t (according to halacha) eat the animal we just killed? Fishing for food is different. As long as the fish is kosher, I can catch, prepare, cook and eat the fish. With fish there are no laws of shechita.
It seems a little odd to me that the rabbis allow hunting for food when we wouldn’t be allowed to eat the animal, because the animal wasn’t properly shechted.
Harold Rose
Narberth, Pa.
Disaster Relief in Turkey – But Not the U.S.
While your newspaper did not cover the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, you did have an article in your Feb. 10 issue about Israeli assistance to Turkey in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in that country.
What is the difference between the toxic, carcinogenic chemicals released in Ohio earlier this month – killing fish, animals, giving residents watery eyes, difficulty breathing, scratchy throats, skin rashes, etc. – and the events in Turkey? East Palestine exists in the bizarro world of Joe Biden. The community has approximately 5,000 residents, which is fewer than all the tenants of the seven-building complex (1,234 apartments) in which I reside – but they are a conservative, white voting bloc.
So, where is our Federal government which has given billions of our tax dollars to Ukraine?
Where is our government which is spending untold billions supporting more than 6 million illegal migrants with free food, free medical care, free clothing, free phones, free education, free housing, free transportation, etc.? In New York City illegal migrants were housed in $300 per night hotel rooms and permitting them to order room service three times daily.
Why not house the American citizens of East Palestine in hotel rooms while testing of water and soil ensues? Why not deliver truckloads of bottled water to residents who are told not to drink the water? How do you bathe your children or cook in likely contaminated water?
Israel’s credo is to be a “light unto the nations.” This, I submit, is the time for American Jewish organizations to step-up. Bottled water as well as prepared and frozen meals should be given to our fellow American citizens. This is a cause to which I would contribute the “Benjamins” which Omar and her ilk would not credit us – but it is the right thing to do! Perhaps this will encourage other NGO’s to participate. After all, they greet illegal migrants with “goody bags” and bottled water when they disembark from buses and they all have donations pages on their websites asking for Ukrainian, Turkey and Syrian relief. I don’t want to believe that everyone has jumped on Biden’s “America last” bandwagon – but it sure seems that this has happened.
Theresa Rosenfeld
New York, N.Y.
